David Cameron, pictured today, pledged to 'open a new front' on extremism in prisons by announcing a series of radical reforms to the UK's justice system

Terrorists could be locked in separate prisons and Imams could be banned from visiting jails under proposals unveiled by David Cameron today.

The Prime Minister said ministers were considering the plans as part of the Government's renewed crackdown on extremism in UK jails.

Revealing that currently around 1,000 of Britain's prison population have been identified as extremist or vulnerable to being radicalised, Mr Cameron said inmates convicted of terrorism offences could be relocated to separate locations if prison governors deemed it necessary.

The measures - part of a 'new front' to tackling radicalisation in jails - would prevent prisons becoming a recruitment target for extremists, where terrorists are able to convert 'weak' individuals to Islam through 'intimidation, violence and grooming' to spread a 'warped view of the world'.

'We will not stand by and watch people being radicalised like this while they are in the care of the state,' Mr Cameron declared today in a major speech on prison reform - the first by a prime minister solely on jails in two decades.

'And I want to be clear: I am prepared to consider major changes: from the imams we allow to preach in prison to changing the locations and methods for dealing with prisoners convicted of terrorism offences, if that is what is required.'

'The Tories have had five years to improve our prisons and we have heard promises of 'rehabilitation revolution' many times before.

'Instead, they have cut staff, closed effective jails, decreased transparency and presided over a crisis.

'While Ministers continue to ignore the appalling conditions in our prisons and with no additional funding provided it is unclear how these announcements will make any real difference.'

NEW RULES FOR PRISONS TO DECIDE HOW MANY PANTS INMATES SHOULD BE ALLOWED

Cameron, pictured talking to a prison guard at HMP Onley in Rugby today, said there were so many rules for prisons that basic security was being undermined

David Cameron today announced plans to give prison governors greater control over rules for prisoners, saying it was wrong that Whitehall officials were 'wondering how many pairs of underpants they're allowed'.

The Prime Minister said the current system was 'infantilising' senior staff and unveiled plans to create six new 'reform' prisons where proven governors would be given 'total discretion' over how they spend their budgets.

He bemoaned the 'incredibly and uniquely centralised' bureaucracy of the current prisons system, where central government decides national limits on possessions available to inmates, such as the number of jigsaws and sheets of music.

There were so many rules that basic security failings had failed, he added, meaning prisoners were often able to access social media and led some jails becoming 'awash with alcohol and drugs'.

'We've reached the point where someone in Whitehall is sitting around deciding how many jigsaws a prisoner should be able to keep in his cell, how many sheets of music they can have in their possession – twelve, in case you're wondering - and even how many pairs of underpants they're allowed.'

He said: 'Is it a sensible strategy to allow these environments to become twisted into places that just compound the damage and make people worse or should we be making sure prisons are demanding places of positivity and reform so that we can maximise the chances of people going straight when they come up?'

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Terrorists could be locked in separate prisons under David Cameron's crackdown